Motor vehicle fatality rate in U.S. by year

Annual US traffic fatalities per billion vehicle miles traveled (red), miles traveled (blue), per one million people (orange), total annual deaths (light blue), VMT in 10s of billions (dark blue) and population in millions (teal), from 1921 to 2017

The table below shows the motor vehicle fatality rate in the United States by year from 1899 through 2016.

In 2010, there were an estimated 5,419,000 crashes, 30,296 of with fatalities, killing 32,999, and injuring 2,239,000.[2] About 2,000 children under 16 die every year in traffic collisions.[3] Records indicate that there have been a total of 3,613,732 motor vehicle fatalities in the United States from 1899 to 2013.

Although the number of deaths, and deaths relative to the total US population, declined over most of the previous two decades, the trend reversed in 2015 and continued to move upward in 2016.[needs update] From 1979 to 2005, the number of deaths per year decreased 14.97% while the number of deaths per capita decreased by 35.46%. The 32,479 traffic fatalities in 2011 were the lowest in 62 years, since 1949. US motor death statistics reported by government only include those on public roads, and do not include parking lots, driveways, and private roads.[4]

The following table summarizes the number of people killed and injured in fatal collisions by month in 2010. The table does not include injuries resulting from incidents in which no fatalities occurred.[9]

Month

Fatalities

In-vehicle casualties (excluding uninjured bus occupants)

Non-vehicle casualties (including pedestrians)

2010-01

2290

4785

427

2010-02

2016

4340

386

2010-03

2423

5087

407

2010-04

2777

5775

404

2010-05

2934

6066

419

2010-06

2795

5809

348

2010-07

3095

6763

456

2010-08

3083

6549

428

2010-09

3024

6309

511

2010-10

3056

6382

543

2010-11

2795

5842

573

2010-12

2597

5417

548

These fatalities do not include those also attributable to transportation due pollution nor energy production for the use of the transportation. They are also only human fatalities, and animals are also significantly affected with tens of millions of deaths [10]. Another factor not included in this tally is that attributable to traffic noise, which could be millions as a contributory factor and is likely to be tens of thousands as a direct consequence [11].